MOTOR CODES NAMES BRITAIN MOST TRUSTED GARAGES

Thousands of motorists have voted in a nationwide contest to seek out the UK’s best car service centres and Motor Codes, the operator of OFT-backed codes of practice for the motor industry, can now reveal the most trusted large and small garages in the UK.

Taking the big business accolade is Reynolds of Selby, North Yorkshire, and the winner in the small business category is ABP Motorsport, Shavington, Cheshire.

Garage of the Year, brought to you by Havoline, is an annual initiative, highlighting to motorists those garages that are committed to providing consistently high customer service standards. In being awarded the title, the winning garages have beaten off competition from a huge field, open to entry for all garages.

Both garage owners were exceptionally proud to pick up the title – one that was decided on by customer votes.

Chris Meredith, owner at ABP said, “We treat each and every customer as a mystery shopper, making sure that everybody who comes through the door experiences the sort of service that we’d expect to receive ourselves. The fact that real customer feedback got us in front of the judges makes the achievement all the more rewarding.”

Placing equal importance on the personal touch, Stephen Reynolds of Reynolds of Selby added, “We are a family-run business and treat all of our staff and customers as an extended part of that family. We’re so pleased to be named Garage of the Year because it shows recognition from the community and reflects the long-standing relationships that we enjoy with many of our customers. I would very much like to thank all of our customers for their continued support and for voting for us to win this prestigious award.”

The winning garages were picked from twenty regional champions, separated by a judging panel that included Emma Butcher, consumer editor at What Car? magazine, Peter Lawton, editor of motor industry magazine Car and Accessory Trader and John Jackson of competition sponsor, Havoline. Each garage was also independently assessed by the RAC.

Pointing to exceptionally high standards this year, Motor Codes managing director, Chris Mason, highlighted the main reason behind running the competition. “Congratulations to two exceptional businesses. The judges certainly had a tough time picking the winners from the shortlist of regional champions and this is indicative of the quality of customer service that motorists across the UK regularly experience, particularly from garages committed to our government-backed codes of practice. We want people to have the peace of mind that there’s a trustworthy, reliable network of garages out there and the level of customer feedback we’ve received through the competition certainly shows that.”

On reaching the final decision, John Jackson who markets the Havoline brand said, “Winning the Garage of the Year award is a tremendous achievement, and both ABP and Reynolds of Selby should feel very proud. It’s important for motorists to find the garages that really look after their customers, and Havoline supports Motor Codes’ work in helping local garages deliver the best possible service.”

Complementing the Garage of the Year competition, Motor Codes offers a postcode-driven garage finder on its website, motorcodes.co.uk, listing over 6,800 subscribing garages. Each garage has a profile page, complete with real-time customer ratings.